A generaw counsew, chief counsew or chief wegaw officer (CLO) is de chief wawyer of a wegaw department, usuawwy in a company or a governmentaw department.

In a company, de person howding de position typicawwy reports directwy to de CEO, and deir duties invowve overseeing and identifying de wegaw issues in aww departments and deir interrewation, incwuding engineering, design, marketing, sawes, distribution, credit, finance, human resources and production, as weww as corporate governance and business powicy. This wouwd naturawwy reqwire in most cases reporting directwy to de owner or CEO overseeing de very business on which de CLO is expected to be famiwiar wif and advise on de most confidentiaw wevew. This reqwires de CLO/generaw counsew to work cwosewy wif each of de oder officers, and deir departments, to appropriatewy be aware and advise.[1]

Historicawwy, generaw counsew often handwed administrative tasks whiwe outside wawyers in private practice handwed more compwex wegaw work. Since de 1980s, however, de generaw counsew position has become increasingwy prominent in muwtinationaw companies, often directwy advising de board of directors in pwace of outside wawyers. Generaw counsew are now often among de most highwy paid executives of major American corporations, and prominent American government wawyers and waw firm partners are often hired for generaw counsew rowes at prominent companies. Simiwar trends are awso being seen in de United Kingdom and oder countries.[2]

The Association of Corporate Counsew ("ACC") has 35,000 generaw counsew, chief wegaw officer and oder in-house counsew members wocated in 90 countries. ACC was founded as de American Corporate Counsew Association in 1982 and now incwudes more dan 55 chapters, incwuding in Argentina, Canada (four chapters), Europe, Israew, de Middwe East and Singapore. Members have access to networking opportunities and education events drough deir regionaw chapter affiwiations as weww as gwobaw connections across practice area, job titwe and industry. ACC provides members wif resources to dewiver services and advice to deir companies, promotes de vawue of in-house wegaw services and advocates on behawf of generaw counsew. For its generaw counsew and chief wegaw officer members, ACC hosts roundtabwes where members discuss current practice trends and issues.

The Forum is an association of 700 generaw counsew and senior managing counsew. The non-profit organization was founded in de faww of 1998 as de Dawwas-Fort Worf Generaw Counsew’s Management Practices Forum (“DFWGCMPF”). The association is a partnership between in-house members and outside counsew, known as underwriters. Members are generaw counsew and managing counsew of corporations, non-profit organizations and government agencies. The mission of de Forum is to improve de professionaw wives of generaw counsew and managing counsew drough meaningfuw opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction and knowwedge exchange, mentoring drough professionaw devewopment in wegaw best practices, edics, governance, and compwiance. In November 2000, de DFWGCMPF changed its name to The Texas Generaw Counsew Forum, awso known as The Forum, and in de fowwowing year de Houston Chapter was formed, and den de Austin-San Antonio Chapter was founded. In Juwy 2005, de Forum hired a Chief Executive Officer wif de mandate to improve de efficiency and effectiveness of de organization, expand membership, and waunch de organization nationawwy. In November 2009, de Board of Directors approved expanding de Forum nationawwy, and dropped de reference to Texas, becoming simpwy The Generaw Counsew Forum. In de faww of 2012, de Generaw Counsew Forum founded de Chicago Chapter.

The SVAGC hosts a series of mondwy wuncheons featuring expert presentations and off-de-record discussion about topics of professionaw interest. It awso assists members who wish to survey deir peers or pose qwestions on particuwar issues, and cooperates in speciaw projects such as de Aww Hands Meeting, an annuaw muwti-track conference at de Santa Cwara Convention Center, attended by generaw and staff counsew from hundreds of member and nonmember wegaw departments in de technowogy and wife science sectors.

The SVAGC is a successor to de Peninsuwa Association of Generaw Counsew (PAGC), formed in de earwy 1980s. In 2003, de SVAGC was formawwy organized as a Cawifornia mutuaw benefit nonprofit corporation wif de assistance of Ivy Associates, a consuwtancy to de Siwicon Vawwey wegaw community dat provides organizationaw support for de SVAGC and produces de Aww Hands Meeting. Onwy SVAGC members, speakers and invited guests may attend mondwy wuncheons, which are funded by modest membership dues. Individuaws may join de SVAGC when dey are de chief wegaw officer of a company wif operations in Nordern Cawifornia dat is pubwicwy traded or which meets awternative criteria for private companies. Some SVAGC members serve as generaw counsew for companies headqwartered outside Nordern Cawifornia, and attend meetings when business travew brings dem into de SF Bay Area.

In de United Kingdom a group of generaw counsew, cawwed de GC100, was officiawwy waunched on 9 March 2005 and brings togeder de senior wegaw officers of more dan eighty five FTSE 100 companies. The GC100 group was created in response to de increasing vowume and compwexity of domestic and internationaw waw and reguwation which impacts on UK wisted companies. The group was formed wif de support of Practicaw Law Company which acts as its secretariat.[3]

The main objectives of de GC100 are to:

Provide a forum for practicaw and business focused input on key areas of wegiswative and powicy reform common to UK wisted companies.

Enabwe members to share best practice in rewation to waw, risk management, compwiance and oder areas of common interest.

Membership of de GC100 is by invitation onwy. At de AGM on de 16 January 2007 members voted in favour of extending membership to company secretaries as weww as generaw counsew in de FTSE 100. The formaw name of de GC100 is now "The Association of Generaw Counsew and Company Secretaries of de FTSE100", awdough it wiww continue to be known as de GC100.

Mark Harding, de first chair of de GC100, has stated dat de GC100 is not a campaigning body, awdough dey work cwosewy wif de FD100 (a simiwar grouping of bwue chip finance directors).[4]